Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Afrique / Africa : A.R. Ajayi and K.P. Baiyeri
Results and discussion
Primary reasons for backyard banana and plantain
production in Nsukka agro-ecological zone of
south-eastern Nigeria
Entries in Table 1 show that majority (95.2%) of the farmers practised backyard banana
and plantain production because of their food value. Banana and plantain are important
staple foods that are critical to the nutrition and economic well being of millions of
people throughout the developing world (INIBAP 1992). According to IITA (1986), the
bulk of bananas and plantains in Nigeria is in the hands of small farmers whose families
consume at least part of the crop and sell any surplus in the local market to generate
income. As shown in Table 1, about 67.0% of the farmers practised backyard banana and
plantain production because of their income generating ability. The table also indicates
that 46.8% of the farmers practised backyard banana and plantain cultivation mainly
because they perceived that there would be effective and economic disposal of their
household waste. Traditionally, banana and plantain are cultivated near the homestead
where they generally receive ample supplies of organic matter from household refuse
(IITA 1986). According to the table, 45.2% of the farmers planted banana and plantain in
their backyard primarily to demarcate their land. One of the major problems among the
rural farm-families is that of land encroachment. It is also evident from the table that
banana and plantain were planted by the farmers (42.9%) to commemorate different
events such as child births, deaths, and marriage ceremonies etc. Banana (in particular)
was planted primarily for medicinal purposes by only 10.2% of the farmers. Apart from
using banana as dessert and for culinary purposes, the stem pith is used for its medicinal
value; especially for dissolving kidney stones and curing coughs and coated tongues
(Singh and Chadha 1966, Ajayi 1998).
Banana and plantain production preference
Data in Table 2 show that majority of the farmers preferred cultivation of plantain
to banana. It is also evident from the table that the farmers possessed a total of
1993 (= 16/household) Musa spp. plants, implying that the majority of farmers from the
zone were small-scale backyard growers.
Table 1. Main reasons for backyard banana and plantain production in the Nsukka
agro-ecological zone of southeastern Nigeria (n = 126).
Main reason %*
Source of food for the household 95.2
Generation of income for the household 66.7
Facilitating effective and economic disposal of household refuse 46.8
Land demarcation 45.2
Commemoration of events 42.9
Medicinal purposes (especially banana)
*More than one main reason was given.
10.2
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